Archive (1372 life histories found)

I am proud of my children, how they have grown into well balanced and civic minded individuals. I value them more than they will ever realise. They have got on with their lives and are now settled with their own family. They developed a really…

I more or less worked whenever the opportunity presented itself and, when I did stop, it was like any other day, because there were always other activities and interest for me to pursue.

Being part of a choir became in reality a lifetime commitment. We all grew up, we all reached the age of twenty-one and all of us gathered to celebrate that milestone. They were referred to then as all night parties and held in the birthday…

The dress dances were exciting and I was asked to many. For the first one, I had a short blue tulle dress with white lace on top, held up by thin blue straps and sequins. Usually all the choir girls helped out by loaning a flashy necklace, silver or…

More memories were saving up for your Christmas clothes. For weeks beforehand, you visited a variety of shops especially on a Saturday to view the style. One particular Christmas I bought a grey wool fitted coat in Maceys of Georges Street. It was…

My work was as a cashier for a wholesale grocery company. Every morning I arose at 7.30 am and I cycled or walked to work, depending on the weather. My first job was in a shop in Grafton Street. As far as I remember, the wages received was between…

Becoming a teenager was thankfully very different in those days. I was still involved with the choir and that filled my teenage years fully. All of our time was spent there because now we had a hall where records and photography was practiced and…

After primary school I did a commercial course in the vocational school in Ballsbridge. I completed many short courses, such as dress designing, knitting, arts and crafts and others. Forever it seemed I yearned for further education and an…

A lone coal fire was the only form of heating in schools then and we took turns to pile on coal to keep it glowing. I was lucky enough to be seated on that side of the room, but usually the teacher's desk and blackboard helped block the heat…

My best friends at school were Marie Heaphy, Eileen Kidd, Mary Carthy, Marie Troy, Phyllis Mackey and Betty Spain. We wore a navy gymslip with a blue sash, white blouse and royal blue jumper. The school desks seated two girls and a shared inkwell. …